Alabama edges No. 12 Kentucky

Jan 19, 2011 - 6:44 AM
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sports Network) - JaMychal Green went nose-to-nose with
Kentucky star freshman Terrence Jones, scoring 18 points with 11 rebounds, as
Alabama raced out to a large lead then held on down the stretch for a 68-66
victory over No. 12 Kentucky.

Green grabbed seven offensive boards, part of a 19-rebound effort on the
offensive glass for the Crimson Tide (11-7, 3-1 SEC), who staked claim to the
top spot in the SEC West at this early stage of conference play. Tony Mitchell
added 15 points and seven rebounds for the victors.

"It was great to see our guys make the stops and pull out the victory," said
Alabama head coach Anthony Grant.

"Obviously they manhandled us in the first 25 minutes and the last 10 minutes
I thought we got after them and played the aggressive way we have to play,"
said Kentucky head coach John Calipari.

Kentucky raced out to a 12-6 edge, but quickly saw itself in a 19-15 hole
behind a 13-3 scoring stretch capped by Senario Hillman's layup. Alabama took
a 37-30 lead into the locker room and came out with all of the energy and
momentum in the second half, scoring 15 of the first 17 points to take
control.

Mitchell scored the final five points of the burst with his layup opening a
52-32 lead with just over 15 1/2 minutes to play. The Wildcats slowly cut into
the lead, capitalizing off sloppy Alabama ball-handling and finishing near the
rim.

Alabama went almost five minutes without scoring as Kentucky ran off 10
straight points capped by Knight's three-pointer for a 59-53 game with just
over 7 1/2 minutes on the clock. The Crimson Tide recorded five turnovers
during that time.

Jones made two free throws about four minutes later to make the deficit just
one point at 62-61, but Green kept the visitors at bay with a tip-in off his
own miss with just over three minutes remaining. Jones answered the Alabama
big man with a bucket of his own then Green made 1-of-2 foul shots.

Lamb couldn't convert from long distance and Mitchell calmly sank two free
throws for a 67-63 lead. Knight gave the Wildcats hope with the last of his
three treys for a 67-66 game. After a turnover, Kentucky had a chance to tie
the game but Knight lost control of the basketball as he turned off a high
screen, and Ben Eblen was fouled with 2.8 seconds left.

The little-used guard made the first, but missed the second, giving Kentucky
one last chance. After a timeout, it was forced to settle for Jones' contested
half court heave that only touched backboard.

Game Notes

Kentucky scored 24 points off 19 Alabama turnovers...Kentucky made 37.7
percent of its shots, while Alabama converted on 44.6 percent of its shot
attempts...Kentucky leads the all-time series, 100-36.